Tuesday, July 15, 2008

So after the last post, I wanted to do some of my favorite cuisine, Mexican Food! Mostly we tried the technique mentioned in the last post aaaaand it didn't work out. So instead, I made this all from scratch and (gasp) NO RECIPE! That's right, this one's a Tickles original, baby. Anyway, I hope you try this one out, because it turned out to be one of the best things I've ever made. Also, I love it in particular because it goes along with doing one of my favorite activities...

Here is your shopping list:

Ground Pork, about a pound or more

1 Red Pepper, diced

1 Yellow Pepper, diced

1 Yellow Onion, diced

1 Tomato, diced

1 Avocado, sliced (do this right before you eat)

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1/2 or 1 Chipotle Pepper in Adobo, seeded

1 can of Black Beans (pronounced frijoles negros)

1 can of Pinto Beans

1 cup rice (plus 1 1/2 cup water)

a package of soft corn tortillas

a few tbsp. olive oil

like, half a thing of corn oil

1 tsp. Oregano

1 tbsp. Cumin

6-pack Delicious Mexican Beer (optional)

Seriously, if you have the spices and oil, it'll only cost you like $13. Plus it feeds a large family.

Ok, so let's make this dish!

You'll only be needing one large pan and two pots for this. Hopefully, one of those pots is a magnelite because you'll be frying in it. First, chop up the peppers (not the chipotle), onion, and tomato and mix them all to

gether in a bowl or just anywhere. Now open the can of chipotles, bask in their glorious aroma, reach in and pull one out. They look gross don't they? Cut it in half and remove the seeds. You can either use both halves or one. I used one and it wasn't spicy at all. Remove the pork and mix it in a bowl with a clove of garlic, oregano, cumin and some of the excess adobo from the can of chipotles. Don't put any adobo on your finger and taste it, its hot, take my word for it. Set that aside. Open the cans of beans and drain the excess liquids. You are now ready to start actually cooking. Have a beer.

Put the oil in the large skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. Wait for it to warm up and simmer the remaining clove of garlic in it until it just begins to change colors and smells glorious. Dump all those veggies you just diced in and stir a few times. Add salt and pepper and stir fry until they become tender, a few minutes, but do not remove. Now's a good time to start cooking the rice. Just follow the directions on the package or use a rice cooker if you're fancy. Hopeful

ly your skillet is big enough for this trick. You want to cook the meat so it absorbs as much of the juices as possible, so push the veggies to the sides of the skillet, leaving a big circle in the middle where the heat is concentrated. Go ahead and plop that meat on and let it cook. You'll need to break it up with a spatula or a spoon, but try to keep it centrally located. Let that cook for a bit until its almost brown all over.

Pour the corn oil into another pot and put it under high heat. Get some paper towels ready on a plate, some sort of metal grasper, and however many tortillas you want. Let the oil heat up and move back to the skillet. Empty both cans of beans into it and add the chipotle pepper and some more adobo. Let that simmer and stir occasionally. About 5 minutes or until everything tastes good. Its basically Chili at this point so you can cook it forever and it'll just keep getting better.

Now, th

e oil should be hot(ttttt). To test, lightly wet your hand and flick a few drops of water into it. If it pops, you're ready. Put a tortilla into the oil and submerge. Fry until golden brown and place on the towels, separating layers with towels. Have another beer.

Hopefully, the rice is ready. You're almost done! Halve the avocado, remove the pit and scoop the halves out with a spoon. and slice. If you're saving any for later, coat in lime or lemon juice so they don't brown.

To serve, scoop rice onto the tortilla and cover in the filling. Top with a slice of avocado. Serve with another beer. These are kind of a mess to eat if you aren't careful, so you might want to grab a fork. These can be nice for parties since individually, you can make about 12-15.